Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield, former chief constable Sir Norman Bettison and four other people are to be prosecuted over offences relating to the Hillsborough disaster.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced that Duckenfield is to be charged with the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 of the 96 Liverpool FC fans who died at the FA Cup semi-final in 1989 and Bettison has been charged with four counts of misconduct in public office.
Sue Hemming, head of the CPS's special crime division, said former South Yorkshire Police officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster, as well as force solicitor Peter Metcalf, are charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice. Former Sheffield Wednesday secretary Graham Mackrell is also charged with three offences relating to health and safety at sports grounds.
Sir Norman Bettison, left, and David Duckenfield
Sir Norman Bettison, left, and David Duckenfield Credit: Peter Byrne/PA/Dave Thompson/Getty
Families of the victims gathered in Warrington on Wednesday morning to hear the announcement, which was released to the public in a 3,780-word statement around 20 minutes later.
In the House of Commons, Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the decision by the CPS and praised the "absolutely exemplary" campaign by the Hillsborough families and others.
Mrs May said: "I know from working closely with the families when I was Home Secretary that this will be a day of mixed emotions for them.
"I welcome the fact that charging decisions have been taken. I think that is an important step forward. But the House will understand that I cannot say anything further on matters that are now subject to a criminal prosecution."
A tearful family member leaves a briefing from the CPS in Warrington on Wednesday afternoon
A tearful family member leaves a briefing from the CPS in Warrington on Wednesday Credit: Peter Byrne/PA
Barry Devonside, whose 18-year-old son Christopher was killed in the disaster, pumped his fist as he emerged from the meeting with the lawyers and other relatives of the 96.
He said: "Everybody applauded when it was announced that the most senior police officer on that particular day will have charges presented to him."
Barry Devonside punches the air after learning of the decision
Barry Devonside punches the air after learning of the decision Credit: Peter Byrne/PA
Speaking on behalf of some of the families, lawyer Marcia Willis-Stewart said: "The Hillsborough families have waited 28 years for justice.
"Some of the truth was exposed by the independent panel and some by the inquest jury on April 26 2016. Now we await the results from the long overdue process of accountability - accountability being key and at the heart.
"The families are sensitive to the issues of fairness and due process and no-one wishes to prejudice or to jeopardise it.
"There are of course various legal options open to the families where decisions have been made not to prosecute, in the form of the victim and judicial review process. As I said, 28 years for justice, now is the time for accountability."
Family members of the 96 Hillsborough victims show their feeling after a meeting with Sue Hemming, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, in Warrington
Family members of the 96 Hillsborough victims outside the Crown Prosecution Service headquarters in Warrington Credit: NIGEL RODDIS/EPA
Hillsborough Family Support Group chairwoman Margaret Aspinall has said it is the "beginning of the end". She said: "Every time we have been knocked down we have been determined to come back stronger."
Trevor Hicks, whose daughters Sarah and Vicki died in the disaster at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, said: "This is a success for society at large, not just for us."
Mrs Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son, James, died in the tragedy, said: "No one should have to go through what the families have gone through for 28 years to try and get to the truth and to get accountability.
"I think now what has been achieved today will change things for the good of this nation and I think that's the legacy of our 96, that they will have left behind."
Hillsborough
Ninety-six men, women and children were killed in the disaster at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final Credit: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto
Prosecutor Ms Hemming said a further file from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) on the conduct of West Midlands Police still needs "additional investigative work".
She added: "Additionally, just this week, the IPCC has referred two further suspects which are unconnected to the matters sent to us in January; these subjects are subject to ongoing consideration by the CPS. We will announce our decisions in due course.
"The suspects referred to the CPS included individuals and organisations. Following these thorough investigations and our careful review of the evidence in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have decided there is sufficient evidence to charge six individuals with criminal offences."
All the defendants, except Duckenfield who has not yet been formally charged, will appear at Warrington Magistrates' Court on August 8.
Stephen Watson, the current South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable, said: "Given that criminal proceedings are now active, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further for fear of jeopardising this important process in any way.
"In all of this however, our thoughts are with the Hillsborough families as we reflect on the appalling tragedy that is Hillsborough with the loss of so many innocent lives."
leaving Parr Hall, Warrington, where the Crown Prosecution Service
Families of Hillsborough victims leaving Parr Hall, Warrington, where the Crown Prosecution Service announced that charges will be brought Credit: Peter Byrne/PA
Evelyn McDonnell Mills, whose brother Peter McDonnell, 21, died in the disaster, said: "I'm really happy that we've finally got some charges after 28 years.
"I'm just sad that my brother Gerard, who campaigned for years, died in the first year of the new inquests and never got to see justice."
Father of Hillsborough victim: We couldn't have asked for more
Duckenfield was not at home at his bungalow in Ferndown, Dorset, when the charges were announced.
But Ian Lewis, the partner at JMW Solicitors who is representing Duckenfield and Denton, said: "In light of the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to commence criminal proceedings against David Duckenfield and Donald Denton, it would be inappropriate for me as their solicitor or for my clients themselves to make any comment."
Operation Resolve, which investigated the causes of the disaster, and the (IPCC) had passed files of evidence relating to 23 suspects, including individuals and organisations, to the CPS earlier this year.
Last year, new inquests found the 96 were unlawfully killed in the disaster, which happened at the match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest.
May pays tribute to Hillsborough campaign
The jury also identified errors in the police planning and response, the actions of commanding officers, the safety certification of the ground, the management of the stadium by Sheffield Wednesday FC and the response by the ambulance service. It also found there were dangerous features in the stadium design.
The original inquest in 1991 ruled that the deaths were accidental, but those verdicts were quashed following an independent report that concluded a major cover-up had taken place to shift the blame for the disaster onto the victims.
Archive: how the Hillsborough disaster unfolded
Following the disaster on April 15 1989, it is alleged that officers from South Yorkshire Police conspired to blame the fans for the tragedy with statements being changed and evidence hidden.
Police at the time briefed the media that the crush in the Leppings Lane end had been caused by drunken, ticketless fans forcing the gates open in order to gain access to the ground.
St George's Hall in Liverpool illuminated following a special commemorative service to mark the outcome of the Hillsborough inquest,
St George's Hall in Liverpool illuminated following a commemorative service to mark the outcome of the Hillsborough inquests Credit: Peter Byrne/PA
The IPCC, which has been investigation the alleged conspiracy, said it had identified 289 police accounts that had been amended.
Last year, a jury concluded after fresh inquests that those who died had been unlawfully killed in a tragedy caused by a series of blunders.
What happened at the 2016 inquest?
In April last year, an inquest jury ruled the victims had been unlawfully killed in the tragedy. The deaths were ruled accidental at the end of the original 1991 inquest.
But those verdicts were quashed following the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report, which concluded that a major cover-up had taken place in an effort by police and others to avoid the blame for what happened.
The Leppings Lane terrace at the Hillsborough Stadium
The Leppings Lane terrace at the Hillsborough Stadium Credit: EPA/HILLSBOROUGH INQUEST
The new jury concluded that blunders by the police and ambulance service on the day had "caused or contributed" to the disaster and that the victims had been unlawfully killed.
After the verdict, South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton said his force "unequivocally" accepted the verdict of unlawful killing and the wider findings reached by the jury.
Hillsborough families' 27-year quest for justice
What did the jury find?
The jurors were told they could only reach the unlawful killing determination if they were sure of four "essential" matters concerning the deaths at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.
They concluded it was unlawful killing by a 7-2 majority. The jury also ruled that fan behaviour did not cause or contribute to the tragedy.
Thousands chant "justice for the 96" at Hillsborough commemorative service in Liverpool
The jury found that:
Both the police and the ambulance service caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster by an error or omission after the terrace crush had begun to develop;
Policing of the match caused or contributed to a dangerous situation developing at the Leppings Lane turnstiles;
Commanding officers caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace, as did those senior officers in the police control box when the order was given to open the exit gates at Leppings Lane;
Features of the design, construction and layout of the stadium considered to be dangerous or defective caused or contributed to the disaster
On the question of the role of South Yorkshire Police in the emergency response, the jury said: "The police delayed calling a major incident so the appropriate emergency response was delayed.
"There was a lack of co-ordination, command and control which delayed or prevented appropriate responses."
[/b]Lets hope now justice is swift, but like someone said Duckenfield and the 5 others have had the last 28 years living out their lives, while the families of the 96 have had to fight every second of the last 28 years.
The older ones on this website know, it could easily had happened to any fan following their football team back in the eighties.
I have the upmost respect for the way the families of 96 have conducted themselves during the last 28 years[b]
RIP
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